Security has been one of the hottest topics in the tech world lately, not just regarding computers but all the gadgets we normally use in our everyday lives. Smartphones have become a huge target for attackers, and the fact that we carry so much of our data on a device that’s always in our pocket and accessible wirelessly seems to bother a shockingly low number of people. At least manufacturers are constantly trying to make their devices more secure through various means, and lately there has been a strong move towards implementing biometric scanners in various forms. But despite many people’s claims that this is an obvious move towards better security, recent discoveries related to the fingerprint scanner of the Samsung Galaxy S6 have raised some concerns.
According to reports, instructions for defeating the fingerprint scanner of the phone have surfaced showing a relatively simple technique accessible to a large number of people. The hack requires an inkjet scanner loaded with conductive ink, and reportedly doesn’t take a lot of effort to pull off.
The idea boils down to essentially printing a set of fingerprints on a piece of paper and using them to fool the device’s scanner – but to many, the truly scary part is that the attack can be carried out without needing to take the owner’s prints off their hands specifically.
After all, modern smartphones are basically one big block of glass on one side, and always have dozens of the owner’s fingerprints ready for taking. So in the end, an attacker only needs access to the device itself to complete the hack from start to finish.
Videos demonstrating the technique show that it can be completed in about 15 minutes, including the time to take the original prints, so in reality an attacker with previously prepared equipment only needs to steal a device for a brief amount of time in order to compromise it.
According to some experts, this is actually not as alarming as it sounds, as in the end, having physical access to a device is considered equivalent to having complete access to it in the security field. But smartphones are a unique case to many, and there have been various incidents in the past that have demonstrated this quite clearly.
The recent case with Apple and the San Bernardino shooter was a clear example of that. If even the FBI can’t circumvent the iPhone’s protection despite having the device in their hands, then maybe there is some merit to physical restrictions on smartphones after all. And with that in mind, it could make more sense for manufacturers – and users – to take the safety of fingerprint scanners more seriously. For many users, it’s still nothing more than a novelty feature and not an actual restriction that can protect them against hackers, but if enough effort is invested into this technology by manufacturers, this situation could definitely change.
Many see the future of smartphones as one where such security measures are inevitable, and the more we continue to pour our lives into these devices, the more likely this is to become true. The worrying part for some is that not enough manufacturers seem to be putting a strong focus on this aspect of their devices, as Apple and Samsung are more or less the most active ones. Hopefully some successful developments by these companies will convince others to join them as well.